Albert t



U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT T. SANSBURY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,846, dated October4, 1898.

Application filed April 25, 1898.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. SANSBURY, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Seal-Locking Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to that class of locks in whicha frangible seal islocked by the bolt; and the object of my improvement is to affordgreater security and greater simplicity of construction than obtains inanalogous devices.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which--Figure 1 is a front elevation in perspective with the seal and bolt inoperative position. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device, and Fig. 3is a perspective viewof the upper end of the locking-bolt. Fig. 4 is asectional view of a modification of the device.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the figures, A is the lock-case, containing the rotatablesliding bolt B; its sleeve or channel 0; the inclined channel or runwayD; one or more balls E E, and having thereon the staple F (the hasp notbeing shown) and the seal-seat G. The seal is designated by the letterH. A small perforated lug is shown at a, and b is a p erforation'in thestaple F, these perforations being provided to permit of the ordinarysealing by wire and a lead seal, which may be used, if desired.

The lower end of the boltB is cut substantially as shown, so as to formthe shoulder c, and the seal-seat G is provided with a curved recess andshoulder d, in which the bolt B can turn when the seal is not in placeand which forms a bearing for the lower end of the bolt B and preventsits dropping out of the channel G. The upper end of the bolt B isbeveled, as shown at e, and preferably is made with the groove f in thebevel, so as to fit the periphery of the ball E, and thus facilitate the1 rotation of the bolt B.

The balls E E are larger than the diameter of the channel 0, in order toprevent their passage through this channel in either direction, whilethe runway D is made slightly Serial No. 678,724. (No model.)

larger than the balls E E to allow a free passage for the balls therein.

The operation of my device is as follows: Referring to Fig. 2, whichshows the bolt in its locked position, it will be seen that the bolt islocked against an upward movement by its engagement with the ball E,which is too large to be forced up through the channel O and whichprojects over the beveled end of the bolt 13 and retains such positionby gravity. The lower end of the bolt B is secured against downwardmovement by the seal H, the upper end of which impinges against theshoulder c, and the lower end of which rests in the bottom chamber h,formed in the seal-seat G. The seal H should be thick enough to preventthe bolt B from being rotated.

In order to unlock the device, the seal H (which may be made of glass,clay, or any other suitable frangible material) is broken,

and the bolt B is then givena half-turn, thus reversing the position ofthe beveled end and bringing it over and under the opposite side of theball E to that shown in its engagement in Fig. 2. The bolt B is thenraised by the hand of the operator, and in'rising pushes the balls E Eto one side and up the runway D until a clear passage is afforded forthe bolt up the channel 0 until the lower end of the bolt is clear ofthe staple F and hasp. (Not shown.)

I prefer to construct the bolt 13 with an aperture 1' in its lower end.This aperture is to enable a person to look through and see whether theseal is intact behind the bolt, or whether it has been broken beforeinsertion in such manner that the bolt can be reached without apparentlydisturbing the seal.

jj are recesses for the insertion of bolts or screws to permit of theattachment of the lock-case to the wall of the car or room to which thelock is attached.

The balls E E may be made of glass, marble, metal, or any other suitablematerial. If desired, only one ball need be used, although I prefer touse two or more, as the probability of their displacement by a jar orblow is thereby much decreased. 111 the latter case a shock or jar maydisplace the last ball E of the series, but the first ball E will retainits position. A spring, if desired, may be used in place of the ball E,as shown in Fig. 4. So, also, the groove in the beveled end of the bolt13 may be omitted, but I prefer to use the groove. Again, the lower endof the bolt 13 may be differently shaped from the form shown in thedrawings, and its manner of engagement with the seal II may be variedwithout departing from the spirit of myinvention. Thus a transversegroove may be formed therein adapted to receive and retain the upper endof the seal H and rest thereon, thus omitting the groove and shoulder din the seal-seat, though in this case the bolt must be given sufficientlength to rest upon the bottom of the seal-seat when the seal is not inplace without releasing the bolt from its channel 0.

Various other modifications will suggest themselves to the skilledmechanic.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In aseal-lockingdevice, the combination of a lock and hasp, the former having arotatable sliding bolt beveled at one end, held in its locked positionby a frangible seal at one end, and at the other end by a ball actuatedto impinge against the beveled end of the bolt, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a seal-locking device, the combination of a lock and hasp, theformer having a rotatable sliding bolt beveled at its upper end and heldin its locked position bya frangible seal at one end, and at the otherend by a ball actuated by gravity to impinge against the beveled end ofthe bolt, substantially as described.

3. In a seal-locking device, the combination of a lock and hasp, theformer having a rotatable sliding bolt beveled at its upper end and heldin its locked position by a frangible seal at the lower end, and at theupper end by one or more balls rolling in an inclined runway andactuated by gravity to cause the end ball to roll over upon the end ofthe bolt and lock it in position, substantially as described.

ALBERT SANSBURY.

"Witnesses J. E. IIINDON HYDE, JAMES C. REILLY.

